Saint Aratóir
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
Saint Aratóir
Noíbh Aratóir (Cuirpthean) | |
|---|---|
Overseas Region | |
| Country |  Cuirpthe |
| Capital and Largest City | Kadrunn |
| Government | |
| • Type | Region |
| • Governor | tba |
| Demonym | Aratóiran |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Central Rennekkan Time) |
Saint Aratóir is an autonomous region, and currently the only overseas region of the Cuirpthean Republic, located 81 kilometers from the northeastern coast of Rennekka. It shares naval borders with the nation of Vidoria, and is the only overseas territory in the Columbian Sea that is considered fully integrated into an Asuran country.
With a total land area measuring 0 km2 (0 sq mi), Saint Aratóir is the smallest of Cuirpthe's regions, as well as the only region that is not divided into provinces. The vast majority of the island's population lives in and around the capital city of Kadrunn, located on the eastern side of the island. The second largest population center is (TBA), on the island's northern peninsula. The central regions of the island are sparsely inhabited due to its rocky and mountainous terrain.
Prior to its discovery by Asurans, Saint Aratóir was inhabited by the native Aratóiran people, speaking a language closely related to those of the Caykarí of Vidoria. The native name of these people is unknown, and the original colonizers of the island referred to them by the same name as the natives of Vidoria. The discovery of the island is usually attributed to the Veleazean explorer Manolo Luppi, who was the first to chart Vidoria and the nearby island on maps of the newly discovered continent in (tba - date inconsistency needs to be sorted out), though proper settlement of the island wouldn't occur until the mid 1500s. In its early years, the island was a slave territory, primarily exporting sugar and bananas. Unlike neighboring Vidoria, however, the terrain of Saint Aratóir with little room for large plantations, confining most agricultural activity to the east and far north. Following the Veleazean abolition of slavery in (tba), Saint Aratóir was instead used as a penal colony.
Following the Midrasian Revolution in 1784, Cuirpthe, which had previously been unified with Newrey, and then occupied by Midrasia, began taking an interest in overseas expansion. In 1813, as an act of friendship between the two nations, the Veleazean king gifted the island to Cuirpthe. In 1817, it would be made a province of the Kingdom of Cuirpthe, and its capital city would be renamed to Kadrunn, named after the town in which reigning King Murdoch I was born. The island would become Cuirpthe's foothold in the west, housing a large portion of the Cuirpthean fleet and, when the Great War began, would be the base of operations for naval activities in the Columbian Sea.
After the conclusion of the war, Cuirpthe's colonial empire was confiscated and divided among the members of the Grand Alliance, primarily Midrasia, Newrey and Atresca. Saint Aratóir, which had a distinctly Cuirpthean identity after decades of immigration, was placed under joint rule of Atresca and Midrasia, and was returned to Cuirpthe by local referendum in 1907, following the occupation of metropolitan Cuirpthe.
The establishment of the Cyningburgh Pact in (tba) led to the construction of CPIS facilities on the island, in the interest of maintaining peace and combating piracy in the Columbian Ocean. The founding of the Asuran Space Agency, and later, the Asura-Arabekh Aerospace Agency brought with it the construction of the Aratóiran Space Center, which is utilized as the primary launch site for A4 and Cuirpthean aerospace corporation Orbital Dynamics.